


Building Windmills Snippets

by katling



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Puppies, Rough Sex, allusions to lyrium addiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-05-15 19:30:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5797039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katling/pseuds/katling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This will be a collection of snippets and outtakes and so on from my fic <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/5711056">Building Windmills</a> based on people's requests for puppies and the ideas floating around my head.</p>
<p>In the first chapter... puppies! Cullen and puppies! Dorian and puppies! :D</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Dorian found himself in an unusual situation and one that frankly sent shivers of apprehension down his spine – he couldn’t find Cullen. Not that Cullen was required to tell him where he was at every minute of the day but it hadn’t been _that_ long since the Prince Consort had been a target of assassins more than once and though Corypheus might be dead now, Dorian still felt that faint sense of dread and fear that something might be wrong.

He’d already looked in their rooms, the salle, the main hall, the smithy and even knocked on the Queen’s door but Cullen was nowhere to be found. However in doing all of that, he also discovered that the Queen and Captain Blackwall were also nowhere to be found and he began to suspect that wherever Cullen was, so too were they. It was only when he began to search the Royal wing that he began to get an inkling about what was going on. 

His first clue was the sound of a young boy’s giggles, followed by what was unmistakably Cullen’s laughter. As he got closer to the door to the room known as the Blue Room, he heard the Queen’s giggles and Blackwall’s gruff chuckles as well. When he opened the door, he found out why.

The room was full of puppies.

There were at least a dozen romping around the room while two large female dogs looked on indulgently, one on each side of a man Dorian didn’t recognise. Prince Aiden was lying on the floor being enthusiastically pawed at and licked by a good half dozen of the puppies while his mother and father watched on with amusement. 

And Cullen was sitting not far away, cross-legged on the floor with a puppy drowsing contentedly in his lap. He looked happy and relaxed. Dorian couldn’t help but think it was a very good look on his lover.

A tiny growl and the feel of something yanking on his boot made him look down to find that one of the puppies was ferociously attacking his very expensive footwear. He gave an exasperated sigh and picked the puppy up with one hand. It was really very small and he felt oddly protective of it.

“My boots are not food,” he said, shaking his other finger at the puppy.

The puppy yipped and licked his finger. Before this very moment, he probably would have claim that being licked by a dog was disgusting but instead he found himself rather inexplicably charmed.

“Dorian!” Cullen said. He got to his feet very carefully, cradling the sleepy puppy in his arms. “I’m sorry. They’re a bit over-excited at the moment.”

The puppy Dorian was holding yipped and wriggled in his grasp and he brought it in to rest against his chest. “I can see that. Are we sure the Prince is going to survive?”

Cullen grinned as he looked over his shoulder. The remaining puppies had joined in the game of gleefully mauling Aiden and the young boy looked like he didn’t mind one bit.

“He’ll be fine.”

Dorian arched an eyebrow at the puppy Cullen was holding. “I see we’ve found a new friend.”

Cullen smiled bashfully. “He, uh… he chose me.” He nodded towards the puppy Dorian was holding. “Though we may have made two new friends from the look of it.”

Dorian’s eyes widened. “Oh, no! No, no. No puppies for me.” He hurriedly put the puppy down and the puppy sat down right there and started to whimper, looking up at him plaintively. He gave it a warning look. “Don’t think I’m going to fall for that.”

The puppy slumped down and rested its head on his boot with a sad sigh, occasionally shooting glances up at Dorian as if to judge how its act was going over. Dorian glared at it then looked up to find Cullen grinning at him.

“No,” he said firmly.

“I do know what these things look like,” Cullen said, his grin widening. “This is the second time I’ve imprinted with a Mabari puppy.”

Dorian looked down at the puppy who was still resting on his boot. “ _No_.”

The puppy whined sadly.

“I am not a dog person.”

The puppy yawned.

“I am irresponsible and terrible.”

The puppy yawned again then rolled over, baring its stomach and revealing it was also a boy.

Dorian huffed. “I feel you are not taking this seriously.”

The puppy made a grumbling sound and rolled over again, sitting up and looking up at Dorian attentively. For the first time, Dorian began to get an idea of what Cullen meant when he said that Mabari were exceptionally intelligent. There was no doubt in his mind that the puppy understood what he was saying.

“I get distracted and lost in my work. I ignore everyone and everything. I would be a terrible person to imprint on.”

The puppy huffed at him then attacked his boot again for a moment. Then it stopped and sat down again, looking up at him with satisfaction. Dorian stared at it helplessly then Cullen leaned over and picked up the puppy, depositing it in his arms.

“You should pick a name,” he said calmly. “I’ve decided on Raleigh for mine.”

Dorian shot a look at Cullen, recognising where the name came from, then he looked down at the puppy.

“Felix?” he said hesitantly.

The puppy yipped happily then licked every part of Dorian he could reach.

“I think he approves,” Cullen said, wrapping his arm around Dorian’s shoulders.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so you know how I said I was going to write snippets for this universe. Well, here's another one. Okay, it took me a while but it's done. 
> 
> Uh, this one also bumps the rating up to Explicit so, you know, thar be sex ahead.
> 
> This is three moments in time between Cullen and Samson back in the old days in Fereldan.

Samson had come to like the kid. He hadn’t wanted to at first and frankly even at second and third. Prince Cullen Rutherford. Youngest son of the king of Fereldan. And the newest and most eager of the Templar recruits. Samson had privately predicted trouble. In his experience, young noble sons were generally trouble, thinking that their title and money could give them what everyone else had to work for. He’d expected nothing else from Cullen. 

But he’d been wrong. Cullen had worked hard and had expected nothing to be given to him unless he’d earned it. He was attentive and serious, dedicated to the army and the Templars. He was a Maker be damned _puppy_ , was what he really was. 

A puppy that seemed to like Samson for some unknown reason. Liked him and respected him. Cullen didn’t give a damn that Samson’s background was poor and a little on the shady side. He didn’t give a damn that Samson spoke bluntly and even harshly at times. He didn’t look down on Samson or sneer at him or anything like that. In fact, he willingly spent time with him. He even allowed Samson to drag him out to the most disreputable places and then deflected any censure that might be thrown in Samson’s direction for doing so.

And then last night, he’d kissed him. Samson sighed and looked down at the young man who was curled up against him, his head tucked underneath Samson’s chin, blissfully asleep. He felt a pang of guilt at the sight. He should have rejected the kid, turned him away towards someone closer to his own age, someone better, someone less… _him_. He hadn’t wanted to though. He _liked_ the kid. He’d wanted him for a while. And Cullen had made the first move so no one could claim he’d corrupted the kid. 

He sighed again. It was going to end in disaster, that much he knew. Cullen might be a Templar but he was also a prince and Samson was just a dirt poor kid who’d somehow been accepted into the Templars. One day, that was going to come crashing down on both their heads but until it did, he was going to have this.

******

Samson poured the contents of the lyrium vial down his throat and felt only relief at the surge of power it brought him. He pulled another vial out of the pouch on his belt and turned around.

“Hoy, kid!”

Cullen turned to look at him and Samson tossed the vial at him. The younger man caught it and stared at it doubtfully. Samson knew what that look meant. They were all taking too much lyrium. He knew it, Cullen knew it, the damn Knight-Commander knew it. But the darkspawn were seemingly endless and the emissaries had been a nasty surprise. Who knew that even the darkspawn had mages? 

But it didn’t matter how much they took. Samson couldn’t see any way out of this. Loghain had turned on them because the king had wanted to ally with Orlais to defeat the Blight. Samson had no liking for Orlesians but Loghain had taken that to ridiculous extremes. Even worse, he’d marched off with half the damn army and was squatting in his estate like an overgrown toad, trying to deny that the waves and waves of darkspawn were a Blight. Frankly, Samson wouldn’t piss on the man if he was on fire.

As he watched, Cullen closed his eyes for a moment then swallowed the contents of the vial. He shuddered for a moment then took his place at Samson’s side.

“This is dangerous,” Cullen said quietly as they waited to see whether there were more darkspawn approaching.

“No shit, kid,” Samson growled. “Bloody darkspawn.”

“Not them. The lyrium.”

“We need it.”

Cullen fell silent then he sighed. “It’s going to be hell cutting back”

“What makes you think we’re going to survive this?” Samson said rancorously and immediately regretted it when Cullen shot him a fearful look from those puppy eyes of his.

“You think we’re going to die?” 

There was the finest quaver in the kid’s voice and Samson wanted to kick himself. He forgot sometimes how young Cullen actually was. The kid was as brave as a lion but he was still only nineteen. Death looked a lot scarier at that age then when you were as worn out as Samson was.

“Nah,” he said, giving the kid a nudge. “The fucking darkspawn can’t take us down.”

The kid smiled and then the darkspawn were coming again and there was only the fight.

******

Samson watched as Cullen groaned and arched his back, his hands clutching at the pillow, as Samson’s almost savage thrusts hit just the right spot inside him. He knew why Cullen had come to him tonight and it hadn’t been for this. He’d come to cajole and convince, to wheedle Samson into trying to cut back _again_. The kid didn’t know what was coming for Samson tomorrow. He’d kept it from him, growled and cursed and shouted until the Knight-Commander had agreed to do the same. And when the kid had come to his room tonight, all wide-eyed and worried and wanting to talk, he’d muscled him to the bed, stripped him naked and not given him a chance to think, let alone talk.

Because he knew what was coming tomorrow. Another charge of theft from the lyrium supplies and worse he’d been caught red-handed. He was gone. To be stripped of his rank and privileges and thrown out of the Templars. He’d agreed to plead guilty, to go quietly in exchange for a horse and a day’s head start before they told Cullen.

He snapped his hips forward, caught up in his rage and shame, and Cullen groaned. He leaned over, his hands tight on Cullen’s legs as he held him pinioned and helpless under his onslaught, and sucked dark red marks into the kid’s pale skin, closing his eyes against Cullen’s breathless cries and begging words.

“Ra…Raleigh… _please_ ,” came Cullen’s almost sobbing plea. “Need… need…”

“No,” Samson snarled, caught off-guard by Cullen’s use of his name. “You’re going to come like this, Cullen. You hear me? With nothing more than my cock in your arse.”

Cullen whined and arched and writhed. Samson’s grip tightened until he _knew_ he was going to leave bruises and his thrusts become positively brutal. Cullen made no indication of complaint or that he wanted Samson to stop. His hands were clenched so tightly on the pillow under his head that his knuckles were white, his head arched so far back that all Samson could see was his neck and chin, his back barely touching the bed. Then he suddenly jolted and _screamed_ as his cock start spurting, spilling over his stomach and onto his chest, as he came untouched. His body tightened around Samson and he snarled as that drew him over the edge and he emptied himself into Cullen.

With the last of his strength, Samson pulled out then he let go of Cullen’s legs and slumped down onto the bed. Cullen made a soft sound of loss then hauled himself over to drape half over Samson, burrowing his face into the older man’s neck.

“You’re like one of those bloody barnacles,” Samson grumbled, though he rather undermined his complaints by wrapping an arm round the younger man’s shoulders to keep him close.

“Y’love it,” Cullen slurred, sounding smug and very, very satisfied.

Samson knew he should get up and clean them both up but he didn’t want to let Cullen see his face. The kid knew him better than anyone else, he’d know in an instant that something was wrong if he got a good look at him. That was why he’d initiated the sex and taken Cullen in a way that he knew would leave him exhausted enough to fall asleep almost immediately. As it proved when after a couple of minutes of silence, the younger man went limp and he heard a soft snore. 

He lay there for a while, staring up at the ceiling as Cullen snored then, when he was sure that the kid wasn’t going to wake, he eased himself out of the bed. He walked into the small attached bathroom that his soon to be taken rank had afforded him and wet down a towel. He gently cleaned up Cullen then himself then he pulled the blankets over the kid.

“Look after yourself, kid,” he muttered. “And for fuck’s sake, don’t come looking for me.”

He pulled on his clothes, picked up the bag he’d packed earlier that evening and let himself out of the room for the last time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another little snippet for this universe that came from a request over on my tumblr - It was for the prompt: “I’ll be here to protect you.” 
> 
> This is set a year after the events in Building Windmills.

“I’ll be here to protect you.”

Cullen turned and gave Dorian a very long and very flat look. His lover was lounging on the bed, already in his finery and ready to go. Cullen was still wrestling with his own clothing, though he’d admit that he was probably struggling because he really didn’t want to go to this function. He would much rather just curl up in his rooms with Dorian and forget the outside world for a day or two.

But it had been a year since Duke Corypheus had been defeated and Josephine had deemed that a celebration was necessary. Cullen was less than enthused by the idea. Defeating Corypheus had certainly been a good thing but Samson had died as well and the clean-up had been unpleasant. Cullen expertise with lyrium had been needed but the red stuff made him feel ill and caused the symptoms of his nearly ten year old withdrawal to act up. He didn’t really want a reminder of all that.

He sighed and gave up on the collar of his jacket and went and sat down on the bed. “I don’t want to go.”

Dorian chuckled and shifted so that he was sitting behind Cullen. He wrapped his arms around him and kissed the back of his neck.

“Everyone knows that, Amatus. You’ve not been shy about making it known.”

Cullen hung his head a little. “I’m sorry. I’m being a pain, aren’t I?”

Dorian turned his head so that he could kiss him softly and sweetly. “I think your reaction is perfectly understandable. I’m not too fond of this anniversary either. I prefer the one we celebrated a couple of months ago.”

Cullen blushed but he also turned so that he could give Dorian a far more heated kiss. The anniversary Dorian had insisted on celebrating had been of when they’d first met and it had been a very private celebration. Just the two of them. Cullen had enjoyed it immensely.

“But seriously,” Dorian said when the kiss finally ended. He sounded a little hoarse and Cullen smirked at that. “I will be here to protect you, even if it’s only from overzealous courtiers.”

Cullen sighed and rested his forehead against Dorian’s. “I’d rather just stay here.”

“So would I,” Dorian said with a wicked grin. “But it wouldn’t do for the Prince Consort to be absent from a celebration which is partially for him.”

“Do you think I could abdicate?” Cullen asked plaintively.

“Evie would have your head.”

Cullen chuckled. “She would, wouldn’t she?”

Dorian kissed his cheek then climbed off the bed. He held out one hand to Cullen. “Come on, Amatus. The sooner we make an appearance, the sooner we can sneak off to have sex on one of the balconies.”

“Dorian!” Cullen protested, blushing furiously. He was however laughing as well and there was a glint in his eye that told Dorian that the suggestion had not been rejected out of hand. Dorian grinned back and as they left the room, he began making plans.


End file.
